One of the sweetest couples at one of our favorite venues made for the perfect wedding in October. The week leading up to this late-October wedding, the weather was cold and we weren’t sure how it would be, but the weekend was PERFECT in the 70s! Nikki and Kevin had booked us for day-of coordination and we were SO happy to be a part of such a BEAUTIFUL wedding inside and out. The ceremony and reception were both held in La Galleria at Lacuna Lofts, which is the smaller of the two even spaces that they have available at Lacuna Lofts in Chicago. The cocktail hour was actually able to be on their SkyDeck because the weather was so beautiful, and we were so thankful because the views are absolutely incredible! This wedding was extra special because of just how personalized everything was to them as a couple - not only is the venue itself eclectic and fun, but they really made sure every detail was well-thought out: they met on Bumble, so they had honey as the favors, they hired the magician that was at the bar they had their first date at for cocktail hour, and their love of music and the arts really shined through for their reception details. This is a wedding we will always remember because of how lovely everyone was and how beautifully everything came together even with the challenges that were faced throughout the wedding day.

One thing that we noticed from the day we met Nikki and Kevin is their fun-loving energy. Nikki was so funny and it really showed throughout their wedding photos from start to finish. We don’t usually include so many photos of the getting ready portion, but when we saw the photo album we couldn’t help but laugh seeing these!

The couple and the wedding party did nearly all of their photos prior to the ceremony at Ping Tom Park. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! We loved the color of the wedding party dresses - the muted teal look really was elegant while still having a pop of color too.

Another thing while getting to see the photos since we were setting up at the ceremony - it looks like Nikki got to meet a furry friend while taking the photos! This really was a precious moment that we loved to be a part of the album - Not only are the photos Courtney Fitzpatrick took spectacular as you can tell, but they really told a story about the couple and the wedding day they actually had with candid shots like these.

Once the photos wrapped up at the park, the wedding park headed over to the venue to take some photos in the space. One thing we love about Lacuna Lofts are all of the murals they have - the honey one here was also really fitting because of their relationship starting from Bumble!

The reception setup was stunning for so many reasons, Saville Flowers did an amazing job with the room flip and everything looked beautiful! Our favorite part was the table numbers - they were named after theatres in Chicago, but they were handmade by Nikki’s former art students which was so special!! They also had us set out their “Bumble-themed” favors with little personalized jars of honey. We thought they were the perfect little favor that was applicable to the couple and also not cumbersome to take home!

After cocktail hour was over, we went right into the grand entrance which was a high five line with the wedding party which felt fun and fitting for Nikki and Kevin. We had the cake cutting, some speeches, and everything kicked off with an amazing dinner from LM Catering!

While dinner was wrapping up and the couple finished eating, they did beautiful sunset photos on the Skydeck during dinner. These photos were truly some of our favorites from the day - the sunset was actually perfect and they were SO cute together while still having authentic fun! They said they use the red tank on the Skydeck to know where to get off at on the highway, so they made sure to take some photos with that too for some extra personalized photos to them as a couple.

The reception was a blast - after the formal dances were finished, the band got started with their set and there was one last bit of personality with a German toast and a song that their grandma danced to! It was a great night overall even with many bustle issues that we eventually safety pinned to keep together for the rest of the night. After the reception ended, the wedding party headed out to their after party and kept the fun going too.

Nikki also wrote us the most amazing review for the day-of coordination:

“Out of all the decisions that have to be made for a wedding, working with Rachel as our day-of coordinator was easily one of the best ones we could have made. We joked that we wanted to get married again exclusively to just work with Rachel again, and that thought still sounds like an absolute dream.

Of course, she made our big day a dream, too. She went above and beyond since the moment we signed our contract months before - immediately emailing us detailed notes after reading through each and every one of our contracts (we didn’t even read them as closely as she did!), introducing us to her perfect dog during our initial virtual meeting, staying in constant communication with tips, advice, and just general cheerleading as we worked to plan this crazy big event.

As we got closer to the event, Rachel, who was already doing way more than we thought a day-of coordinator would ever do, did that much more. We spoke for over 2 hours as she worked through our timeline with us practically to the minute, and revised, revised, revised so patiently when we kept throwing new thoughts and ideas out there.

Day of, we were reminded just how lucky we were to have connected. She was everywhere! Ensuring our room flip was perfect, getting us some time to decompress after our ceremony with our signature drinks and appetizers, introducing herself to our families, and running our ceremony effortlessly as she had during our rehearsal. She was ready for it all: me wanting to change into converse but forgetting socks? Don’t worry, she had brand new socks in her car. Spill on the dance floor? Don’t worry, she had found maintenance and had it cleaned within minutes. And every bride’s personal favorite: the wedding dress bustle that broke not once, not twice, not three times, but four times? Don’t worry, Rachel’s handiwork with some safety pins is unmatched as the main bustle strings just didn’t want to hold.

On top of all of this, Rachel sent us so many behind-the-scenes videos and pictures after the event, flooding our phones with captured joy we got to cherish all over again the next day.

Rachel is so grounded, so kind, so unbelievably patient and easygoing - include her in your day and it will sparkle.”

If you’re looking to have an incredible wedding like theirs, feel free to reach out to us at our contact page. We would love to come up with ideas to personalize your wedding day to fit you as a couple too!

Vendor Credits:

Venue: Lacuna Lofts - @lacunaloftevents @lacuna2150

Photo: Courtney Fitzpatrick Photo + Film - @courtneyfitzpatrickphoto

Video: BREE Visuals - @bree.visuals

Coordination: Firmly Rooted Events - @firmlyrootedevents

Hair/Makeup: Rare Bird Beauties - @rarebirdbeauties

Florist: Saville Flowers - @savilleflowers

Band: Steve Tschailkowsky

Magician: Al James

Catering: LM Catering - @lmcateringchi

Alcohol: Binny’s - @binnysbev